


Intro to Sexuality Studies and Chosen Family

by dreamatoriums



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, Dean Pelton unlabelled/queer, F/F, Fluff, Frankie Dart is a lesbian, Frankie and the Dean's friendship, Friendship, Gen, Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, Queer Themes, gas leak, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27962540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamatoriums/pseuds/dreamatoriums
Summary: "Well, I want to preface this by saying that you cannot , under any circumstance, reveal what I am about to say to anyone. Not your coworkers, not the students, not even your family or friends outside of this school. I am merely sharing this information to enhance our professional relationship and prevent a misunderstanding, and I am not afraid to contact human resources if you dare utter a word. Understood?"Frankie Dart has always been a private person, especially with her coworkers. But sometimes, she's learned, it's good to open up. When another gas leak means Frankie must share her office with Dean Pelton, she decides to tell him a little bit about her identity and past.
Relationships: Frankie Dart/Dean Craig Pelton (friends), Frankie Dart/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Intro to Sexuality Studies and Chosen Family

**Author's Note:**

> Frankie Dart is one of my favorite underrated Community characters, so I figured I may as well explore her a little more in a quick one-shot. For context, this story takes place sometime in between Garrett's wedding episode and the series finale.
> 
> I should probably put a disclaimer that there are some mentions of homophobic violence in this story (though they are not graphic). Alright, that's enough spoilers. More notes at the end- enjoy!

_Another day, another spreadsheet._ Most people would hate spending hours upon hours on Excel, but for Frankie, tables and graphs were like therapy. She had been working for hours, deeply entrenched in the world of data and color-coded cells. Her thick, heavy binder, adorned with an Annie Edison-inspired decoration on the cover, sat in her lap, overflowing with notes on this week’s tasks.

 _BZZZZ._ Frankie’s phone vibrated, startling her back into reality. She jumped from her seat, her binder falling to the floor with a loud _thud_.

_Sarah: Hi Frankie! Can’t wait to meet you tonight :) Does 7:00 still work for you?_

The corners of Frankie’s mouth formed a slight smile. While she usually dreaded first dates, Sarah seemed rather pleasant. She used proper capitalization and spelling, showing a degree of intelligence and professionalism, but also used emoticons, displaying that she knew how to let loose.

_Yes, I am still available tonight at 7:00 PM MST. I look forward to meeting you in person._

No, Frankie thought. That sounded cold, and she was trying to be more friendly and personable. She quickly added an exclamation point to the end of her draft and sent the message. 

Before she could think more about the date, a skinny, bald man burst upen her office door without warning. It was Dean Craig Pelton, her boss (well, _boss_ was debatable- while Frankie was a big believer in following professional hierarchies, she felt that despite his kindhearted nature, Craig was far too incompetent to wield the power that he held).

“Frankie!” Craig exclaimed. “I don’t want to inter- _dean_ on your work, but there seems to be another gas leak in my office. I’ll be honest, I have no clue how to fix it and I need help. Normally I’d ask Jeffrey so I’d have an excuse to see him, but he’s ‘teaching’ a ‘class’ and this is kind of urgent. Wouldn’t want another school-wide gas leak after what happened last year.”

Frankie rolled her eyes at Dean Pelton’s use of air quotes around the words “teaching” and “class.” How had she ended up working at such a joke of a school?

“Okay, Dean. I know a thing or two about gas leaks, or at least I know who to call if we need to fix one. Why don’t you show me and I’ll see what I can do?”

“Frankie, you never disappoint me,” Craig placed his hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “It’s in my office. You’ll certainly smell it right away.”

Frankie picked up her binder, slipped her phone into the pocket of her slacks, and followed the dean. They entered his office, which looked like a scene straight out of _101 Dalmatians_. She was still baffled by Craig’s fascination with the creatures, but chose not to question it. After all, some things were better left unsaid. 

There was no need to point out the signs of a gas leak, as they were immediately greeted with the pungent odor of rotten eggs. “Yep, that’s a gas leak,” Frankie said, holding her breath so as not to inhale the stench of sulfur in the air. “I’ll call one of our plumbers to check it out. Now, if you want to do your work in a place that doesn’t reek, you’re welcome to share my office for the day.”

Frankie didn’t usually like sharing her workspace, especially not with someone as rambunctious as the dean. But for some reason, she felt generous. Maybe the gas was messing with her brain, or maybe she just felt more open today. More willing to share.

The dean enveloped Frankie in a tight, startling embrace. “Frankie Dart, I’ve been waiting for you to invite me to hang with you!” he squealed. “There’s still so much I don’t know about you. I can’t wait to crack open that shell and take our friendship to the next level!”

Frankie’s stomach dropped. She liked Craig, and had wanted to get to know him a bit better for a while. After all, he was her boss, and strong professional relationships were a key element of building one’s career. But the part about “cracking open her shell” scared her. Was this the day that she would have to come out to the dean?

“Sounds...great.” Frankie responded. After all, her work day ended in just two hours- she could keep a secret for that long.

…

The dean grabbed a spare fold-up chair and placed it next to a very short filing cabinet. When seated, he used the top of the cabinet as a makeshift desk. Frankie let out a sigh of relief; at least she would have her own space to work.

However, this calm lasted merely seconds; right as she sat down at her desk chair, Frankie’s phone buzzed in her pocket. It was Sarah again.

_Great! I’ll meet you at the bar. I’ll be wearing a red dress- just letting you know in case you have a hard time finding me in the crowd! But I know I’ll probably spot you right away- I could never miss your striking face <3 _

Frankie’s heart skipped a beat, and she chuckled, charmed by Sarah’s flirtatious demeanor.

“Oooh, someone’s happy!” Dean Pelton practically leaped out of his seat and craned his head, clearly trying to catch a glimpse of Frankie’s phone screen. “Who are you texting?” 

Frankie immediately held the phone to her chest, blocking the dean’s view. “Oh, uh. It-it’s no one. Just, uh, my...mom?” Her face was burning up. She winced, knowing that there was no way in hell Craig believed her.

“Wow, that’s an awful amount of blushing for a text from your mom,” Craig laughed. “Not that I’m judging- we all have our quirks.”

Frankie raised her eyebrows. She could tell that the dean was just trying to be polite. After all, nobody was _that_ unphased by incest, right? She hoped that Garret Lambert’s marriage to his cousin hadn’t normalized incest _too_ much at Greendale; she also hoped that her boss didn’t think that she had a crush on her own mother.

“Look, Dean,” Frankie sighed. She paused for a second, questioning what she was about to say. What was worse, her boss thinking that she had some kind of weird reverse Electra complex, or her boss (a definitely-not-straight individual who would certainly be understanding, but who also could not keep a secret to save his life) learning that she was a lesbian?

“Yes, Frankie?” Craig leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Frankie decided that the latter was the better option. “Well, I want to preface this by saying that you _cannot_ , under any circumstance, reveal what I am about to say to _anyone._ Not your coworkers, not the students, not even your family or friends outside of this school. I am merely sharing this information to enhance our professional relationship and prevent a misunderstanding, and I am not afraid to contact human resources if you dare utter a word. Understood?”

“Well, we don’t actually have an HR department here,” Craig said. Frankie made a mental note to address that at the next Save Greendale Committee meeting. “But either way, I promise I won’t tell anyone. You can trust me.” He held out his pinky to signal a promise. While Frankie didn’t believe in such ridiculous rituals, she locked her pinky in his. After all, she was trying to become more personable, so partaking in a symbolic gesture of friendship and trust would be a good first step.

“Okay.” Frankie took a deep breath. The whole room spun around her, and black spots slowly crept into the corners of her vision. She grasped the arm of her chair, grounding herself in reality, and took another breath.

The dean furrowed his brow. “Frankie, are you okay? I can get someone from the health center- I think we still have one here? Anyway, if you need medical help, I’ll try to get some. Worst case, I have some ice packs in my office.”

“I’m okay, Dean. This is just a private matter, and I’m not used to mixing work with my personal affairs. But you’re my friend, and I _have_ been wanting to open up to somebody here, so I guess I’ll start off by telling you that I’m going on a date tonight. That was what the text was about.” Frankie stared down at her desk, hoping that if she avoided eye contact, she could also avoid questions.

“Wow, Frankie, I never thought I’d hear you talk about that! Good for you; I’m proud of you. You don’t have to share anything else if you don’t want to, but I’m all ears if you want to talk more about this special...person?”

Frankie was taken aback by Craig’s relaxed response to this new information. She supposed that perhaps he was more restrained in one-on-one situations. Somehow, Frankie knew that she could trust him.

“You know,” Frankie said, “I think that sounds nice, actually. Now, before I continue, I would just like to remind you that your promise to secrecy includes the Save Greendale Committee _and_ information that may influence their betting pool about my sexuality.”

The dean nodded, and shockingly enough, didn’t make any jokes or silly comments.

“So. I’m a lesbian. Now, I usually don’t reveal this information to my coworkers, as my sexual orientation does not influence the value or merits of my work. After all, I don’t want the school board trying to tokenize me the way they did to you. But, because you are my friend and because Greendale is certainly an unconventional workplace, I figured I may as well share this information with you today. _Only you_.”

Craig smiled with joy and pride for his friend, followed by a slight tinge of fear in his eyes, likely due to the intensity of Frankie’s last words. Frankie was glad that he seemed to understand that he could not, under any circumstances, out her. She sighed with relief and sunk back into her swivel chair, feeling slightly lighter than she had moments earlier.

“Frankie,” Craig said, “Thank you for telling me. Trust me, I get it. Being openly _anything_ is scary. I’m not one for labelling myself, though I know you know I’m certainly far from straight.” They both laughed. “But labels are great for some people, and I’m proud of you for coming out to me today.”

Frankie felt free. Free from the shackles of forced heterosexuality; liberated from the cold and secretive persona that she wore like a mask every day. “Thanks. You know, I wasn’t always so afraid to share these things about my life, but I just… Well, I had a bad experience when I was a teenager that sort of scarred me for life.”

“Oh,” the dean’s eyes widened; Frankie assumed he was shocked to hear this much personal information from her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, I was always a bit standoffish and awkward as a kid, but I had a couple of close friends through most of childhood. I was raised in an extremely conservative household, and I was best with two girls from my church,” Frankie began.

“Uh oh,” Dean Pelton grimaced. “I hope this isn’t going where I think it’s going.”

“I’m afraid it probably is,” Frankie said. “So, I was friends with these girls from about the age of five all the way up to our teenage years. We grew up together. Always said that we’d be friends forever, no matter what. We had sleepovers together every Saturday, and they always talked about their crushes. At this point, I was in denial about being a lesbian, despite having experienced some attraction to female classmates; I’d always just play along, choose a boy to ‘like,’ and hope that one day I’d actually find the right boy, one who could fix me.”

“Oh, Frankie,” the dean exclaimed, “I’m sorry you felt that way.”

“It’s okay,” Frankie said, “It made me stronger, I suppose. So anyway, when I was fourteen, there was a new girl in my history class. She was unlike anyone I’d ever met before; she was, simply put, the coolest person I’d ever met. I still remember the first day she sat next to me and I felt real butterflies in my stomach for the first time.”

Frankie paused for a moment, lost in her own thoughts. Her eyes welled up a bit, recalling the combination of pure terror and overwhelming giddiness she felt upon discovering her sexuality.

Remembering she had not finished the story, Frankie quickly resumed. “I was terrified and thrilled, and I wanted to talk to my best friends about it. I knew that our church preached against homosexuality, but I also knew, or at least thought, that my friends had my back no matter what. So I told them at our next sleepover, and, needless to say, it did not go well. They threw rocks at me.”

The dean’s jaw dropped. “They _WHAT?_ ” he shouted, jumping out of his chair once again. “Frankie, oh my god. That’s horrifying. Are you okay? I mean, clearly you’re physically here, but emotionally, are you okay? I know some counselors you can talk to if you want to process it or anything. I’m sorry for freaking out, but holy shit, Frankie, that’s so much worse than I expected.”

Frankie put her hand on the dean’s shoulder, lightly guiding him back to his seat so as to calm him down. “I’m okay now. I was covered in bruises for a couple of weeks, but that was probably the easiest part of it all. My parents found out the next morning, and they vowed to cut me off as soon as I was legal. They didn’t hesitate to follow through on my eighteenth birthday. I haven’t spoken to them since, nor did I ever speak to my friends again after the incident. But I’m okay now. I worked hard, saved up, took out loans for college, and crashed on many couches. But since then, I’ve grown. I now have a career, a home, and, tonight, a _date_.”

Craig and Frankie sat in silence for a few moments. Tears filled Frankie’s eyes once again, only this time they were dangerously close to spilling over. She took a shaky breath, and the dean gently squeezed her hand.

Dean Pelton eventually broke the silence. “Frankie, I can’t even imagine going through what you experienced. Your parents are horrible! I can’t imagine treating a child like that.”

“At this point I’ve basically forgiven them. I know I make a lot of excuses for them, but ultimately they’re just misguided humans, who were tragically brainwashed by a hate-fueled ideology under the guise of love. I held onto anger and resentment for years, but I’m finally starting to let go. I’ve learned to be okay without them..”

The dean nodded. “Well, I’m always here for you if you want to talk. Everyone here at Greendale loves you, and I totally understand keeping things private, but I’m positive that if someday down the line you come out to the Save Greendale Committee, they’ll support you.”

“Thank you,” Frankie blinked away her tears. “I really appreciate it.”

“Of course,” said Craig. “We’re your family now.”

…

Frankie eventually left work for the day to go on her date. She got in her old, beat up car and turned up the radio, a rare occurrence; she normally preferred silent drives. Today was a day for music and celebration, though. WhileFrankie hadn’t gotten a single piece of work done in the last two hours of her workday, that didn’t matter. The world had become a little less scary, and for the first time in her life, she had a true friend on her side.

When Frankie arrived at the restaurant, the woman in the red dress immediately caught her eye. Sarah waved and grinned at Frankie. Her smile radiated pure joy and warmth; her dark brown eyes sparkled under the bar’s bright lights; her dark curls bounced with life as she walked over to greet Frankie.

Frankie felt the same butterflies in her stomach and the same pounding heartbeat she’d once felt all those years ago when she met her first crush. Only this time, she knew that things were going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this story! I adore Frankie and I hope I did her character justice. I also wanted to give more attention to her sexuality, as the show joked around about it a lot but never really addressed it, and as a lesbian myself, I felt a connection to Frankie. I know this wasn't necessarily a typical fic as it didn't involve romance between any of the show's characters, but for the purpose of this story I thought it made sense for Frankie to be romantically involved with someone outside of work.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts in the comments! I'd love to hear everyone's opinions :)


End file.
